@fatebled
The rusty red fur of her paws stands out starkly against the too-bright white of the snow. The beating of four legs upon the snow makes it easier to traverse the winterscape, allowing Chise to cross between safe spaces at least twice as quickly.
Bringing Ashen Eyes’ gift into her dreams had been easier than expected. She’d only had to focus on pulling the were-creature’s pelt out of her satchel, imagining the soft fur between her fingers before it had actually been there and she could throw it over her being and melt into the form of a fox with ease. The dreams provide a relatively safe place for Chise to experiment with the pelt outside of situations full of duress. Being able to use the pelt without having some dire situation to resolve allows her to simply run, to revel in the freedom to go wherever she pleases without having to worry about losing sight of her home.
Her jaw drops open to assist in catching her breath as she comes to an abrupt stop on the top of a boulder sticking out from the snow. From her perch, scents roll in from all directions. It’s almost too much for her human mind, though the fox’s instincts let her calm down enough to sift through them. Some are familiar (she relaxes upon recognizing Takumi’s scent), others are not.
One in particular moves closer with every beat of her too-fast heart, one Chise cannot immediately place. Curiosity fills her chest, mixing with lingering adrenaline and resulting in the courage to investigate. Muscles bunching in her hind legs, she leaps from the boulder and darts in the direction from which the bizarre (though not unpleasant) mixture of flowers and steel originates.
